https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2022/01/holocaust_remembrance_day_lessons_to_learn_from_the_darkest_chapter_of_history.html
The Holocaust is among the darkest chapters in the history of mankind. It was the first time an entire people were systematically targeted, discriminated against, persecuted, and murdered on an industrial scale for their religious persuasion.
But this genocide against the Jewish people did not occur in a vacuum. The Holocaust was the result of a prolonged and sinister campaign against the Jewish people.
While the shocking nature of barbarism, violence, and mass murder causes the Holocaust to the focal point of historians, the Nazi strategy that enable them to systemically target an entire people without much resistance needs to be studied.
A bit of history.
Following Germany’s humiliating defeat during World War 1 in 1914, the Germans were compelled to sign the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty required Germany to disarm, make considerable territorial surrender, and pay reparations that were the equivalent of US$442 billion in 2022.
The treaty caused great resentment among Germans who felt that the politicians had stabbed them in the back.
The Great Depression in Germany during the 1930s added to the woes of an already fragile nation. Unemployment was high and so was inflation, which eroded the purchasing power for regular people.
At such a juncture people often look toward easy scapegoats.
Despite the fact that Jews had integrated into German society, many indigenous Germans perceived them as outsiders. There was resentment based on antisemitism, but it was seldom overt. In fact, the history of antisemitism and persecution of the Jewish people in Europe dates back to the Middle Ages.
The Nazis under Hitler managed to channel all public resentment towards the Jews; the historical antisemitism made the feelings more potent.